A Scaling Method for Priorities in Hierarchical Structures

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/197/4300/215.full.pdf

Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems

The types of social organisation displayed by the African antelope species have been assigned in this paper to five classes, distinguished largely by the strategies used by the reproductively active males in securing mating rights, and the effects of those strategies on other social castes. The paper attempts to show that these strategies are appropriate to each class because of the effects of other, ecological, aspects of their ways of life. The paper describes different feeding styles among antelope, in terms of selection of food items and coverage of home ranges. It argues that these feeding styles bear a relationship to maximum group size of feeding animals through the influence of dispersion of food items upon group cohesion. The feeding styles also bear a relationship to body size and to habitat choice, both of which influence the antelope species' antipredator behaviour. Thus feeding style is related to anti-predator behaviour which, in many species, influences minimum group size. Group size and the pattern of movement over the annual home range affect the likelihood of females being found in a given place at a given time, and it is this likelihood which, to a large extent, determines the kind of strategy a male must employ to achieve mating rights. The effects of the different strategies employed by males can be seen in such aspects of each species' biology as sexual dimorphism, adult sex ratio, and differential distribution of the sexes.

The Social Organisation of Antelope in Relation To Their Ecology

1 Introduction and Overview.- 1.1 Objectives.- 1.2 Multivariate Statistics: An Ecological Perspective.- 1.3 Multivariate Description and Inference.- 1.4 Multivariate Confusion!.- 1.5 Types of Multivariate Techniques.- 1.5.1 Ordination.- 1.5.2 Cluster Analysis.- 1.5.3 Discriminant Analysis.- 1.5.4 Canonical Correlation Analysis.- 2 Ordination: Principal Components Analysis.- 2.1 Objectives.- 2.2 Conceptual Overview.- 2.2.1 Ordination.- 2.2.2 Principal Components Analysis (PCA).- 2.3 Geometric Overview.- 2.4 The Data Set.- 2.5 Assumptions.- 2.5.1 Multivariate Normality.- 2.5.2 Independent Random Sample and the Effects of Outliers.- 2.5.3 Linearity.- 2.6 Sample Size Requirements.- 2.6.1 General Rules.- 2.6.2 Specific Rules.- 2.7 Deriving the Principal Components.- 2.7.1 The Use of Correlation and Covariance Matrices.- 2.7.2 Eigenvalues and Associated Statistics.- 2.7.3 Eigenvectors and Scoring Coefficients.- 2.8 Assessing the Importance of the Principal Components.- 2.8.1 Latent Root Criterion.- 2.8.2 Scree Plot Criterion.- 2.8.3 Broken Stick Criterion.- 2.8.4 Relative Percent Variance Criterion.- 2.8.5 Significance Tests.- 2.9 Interpreting the Principal Components.- 2.9.1 Principal Component Structure.- 2.9.2 Significance of Principal Component Loadings.- 2.9.3 Interpreting the Principal Component Structure.- 2.9.4 Communality.- 2.9.5 Principal Component Scores and Associated Plots.- 2.10 Rotating the Principal Components.- 2.11 Limitations of Principal Components Analysis.- 2.12 R-Factor Versus Q-Factor Ordination.- 2.13 Other Ordination Techniques.- 2.13.1 Polar Ordination.- 2.13.2 Factor Analysis.- 2.13.3 Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling.- 2.13.4 Reciprocal Averaging.- 2.13.5 Detrended Correspondence Analysis.- 2.13.6 Canonical Correspondence Analysis.- Appendix 2.1.- 3 Cluster Analysis.- 3.1 Objectives.- 3.2 Conceptual Overview.- 3.3 The Definition of Cluster.- 3.4 The Data Set.- 3.5 Clustering Techniques.- 3.6 Nonhierarchical Clustering.- 3.6.1 Polythetic Agglomerative Nonhierarchical Clustering.- 3.6.2 Polythetic Divisive Nonhierarchical Clustering.- 3.7 Hierarchical Clustering.- 3.7.1 Polythetic Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering.- 3.7.2 Polythetic Divisive Hierarchical Clustering.- 3.8 Evaluating the Stability of the Cluster Solution.- 3.9 Complementary Use of Ordination and Cluster Analysis.- 3.10 Limitations of Cluster Analysis.- Appendix 3.1.- 4 Discriminant Analysis.- 4.1 Objectives.- 4.2 Conceptual Overview.- 4.2.1 Overview of Canonical Analysis of Discriminance.- 4.2.2 Overview of Classification.- 4.2.3 Analogy with Multiple Regression Analysis and Multivariate Analysis of Variance.- 4.3 Geometric Overview.- 4.4 The Data Set.- 4.5 Assumptions.- 4.5.1 Equality of Variance-Covariance Matrices.- 4.5.2 Multivariate Normality.- 4.5.3 Singularities and Multicollinearity.- 4.5.4 Independent Random Sample and the Effects of Outliers.- 4.5.5 Prior Probabilities Are Identifiable.- 4.5.6 Linearity 153.- 4.6 Sample Size Requirements.- 4.6.1 General Rules.- 4.6.2 Specific Rules.- 4.7 Deriving the Canonical Functions.- 4.7.1 Stepwise Selection of Variables.- 4.7.2 Eigenvalues and Associated Statistics.- 4.7.3 Eigenvectors and Canonical Coefficients.- 4.8 Assessing the Importance of the Canonical Functions.- 4.8.1 Relative Percent Variance Criterion.- 4.8.2 Canonical Correlation Criterion.- 4.8.3 Classification Accuracy.- 4.8.4 Significance Tests.- 4.8.5 Canonical Scores and Associated Plots.- 4.9 Interpreting the Canonical Functions.- 4.9.1 Standardized Canonical Coefficients.- 4.9.2 Total Structure Coefficients.- 4.9.3 Covariance-Controlled Partial F-Ratios.- 4.9.4 Significance Tests Based on Resampling Procedures.- 4.9.5 Potency Index.- 4.10 Validating the Canonical Functions.- 4.10.1 Split-Sample Validation.- 4.10.2 Validation Using Resampling Procedures.- 4.11 Limitations of Discriminant Analysis.- Appendix 4.1.- 5 Canonical Correlation Analysis.- 5.1 Objectives.- 5.2 Conceptual Overview.- 5.3 Geometric Overview.- 5.4 The Data Set.- 5.5 Assumptions.- 5.5.1 Multivariate Normality.- 5.5.2 Singularities and Multicollinearity.- 5.5.3 Independent Random Sample and the Effects of Outliers.- 5.5.4 Linearity.- 5.6 Sample Size Requirements.- 5.6.1 General Rules.- 5.6.2 Specific Rules.- 5.7 Deriving the Canonical Variates.- 5.7.1 The Use of Covariance and Correlation Matrices.- 5.7.2 Eigenvalues and Associated Statistics.- 5.7.3 Eigenvectors and Canonical Coefficients.- 5.8 Assessing the Importance of the Canonical Variates.- 5.8.1 Canonical Correlation Criterion.- 5.8.2 Canonical Redundancy Criterion.- 5.8.3 Significance Tests.- 5.8.4 Canonical Scores and Associated Plots.- 5.9 Interpreting the Canonical Variates.- 5.9.1 Standardized Canonical Coefficients.- 5.9.2 Structure Coefficients.- 5.9.3 Canonical Cross-Loadings.- 5.9.4 Significance Tests Based on Resampling Procedures.- 5.10 Validating the Canonical Variates.- 5.10.1 Split-Sample Validation.- 5.10.2 Validation Using Resampling Procedures.- 5.11 Limitations of Canonical Correlation Analysis.- Appendix 5.1.- 6 Summary and Comparison.- 6.1 Objectives.- 6.2 Relationship Among Techniques.- 6.2.1 Purpose and Source of Variation Emphasized.- 6.2.2 Statistical Procedure.- 6.2.3 Type of Statistical Technique and Variable Set Characteristics.- 6.2.4 Data Structure.- 6.2.5 Sampling Design.- 6.3 Complementary Use of Techniques.- Appendix: Acronyms Used in This Book.

Multivariate statistics for wildlife and ecology research

Male mammals show a diverse array of mating bonds, including obligate monogamy, unimale and group polygyny and promiscuity. These are associated with a wide variety of different forms of mate guarding, including the defence of feeding and mating territories, the defence of female groups and the defence of individual receptive females. Female mating bonds include long-term monogamy, serial monogamy, polyandry and promiscuity. Both male and female mating behaviour varies widely within species. Variation in male mating behaviour is related to the effect of male assistance in rearing young and to the defensibility of females by males. The latter is, in turn, related to female ranging behaviour and to the size and stability of female groups. Much of the variation in mammalian mating bonds and systems of mate guarding can be attributed to differences in these three variables.

Helmut K. Buechner

Papers

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